Blazers ticket prices to remain flat

After two years of hiking ticket prices, the Portland Trail Blazers will keep rates flat for the 2011-12 season.

Sarah Mensah, the team’s chief operating officer, said Tuesday the team will keep its rates the same for most seats while even dropping prices in certain arena locations. Specifically, tickets in the corner sections of the team’s club section, which offers an all-you-can-eat buffet, will be $89, or about $30 less than club tickets offering direct court views.

The Blazers also expect overall sponsorship dollars to jump by 5 percent by the time the 2010-11 season ends, Mensah revealed in an interview on the team’s midseason business prospects.

Although the team isn’t expected to make money this year, the Blazers are performing better than many of their peers. NBA teams could collectively lose some $500 million this year, NBA Commissioner David Stern said last year. Union officials believe that’s an exaggeration buoyed by upcoming labor talks that will shape the players’ next collective bargaining agreement.

The Blazers expect to maintain the team’s current streak of 137 straight sell-outs — that is, all tickets have been sold for each of 137 games — and are selling most of the Rose Garden’s suites every game.

The solid performance comes as the Blazers continue to suffer waves of injuries. Star Brandon Roy is only expected to play in limited action once he returns from two knee surgeries later this year. Center Greg Oden will miss the entire season after his third major knee injury in four seasons with the team.

“Despite how incredibly challenging it’s been, we’ve had a gratifying year” business-wise, Mensah said. “No question we’ve had adversity on the court, but that’s become the normal flavor for the Trail Blazers.”

Several newer programs have been well-received. The team’s Rip City United program for longtime season ticketholders has brought those fans together in a sort of “community” that hadn’t existed before. The longtime fans, including those who’ve held season tickets since the franchise’s 1970 debut, now regularly convene in a designated Rose Garden concourse area.

Fans and sponsors have also praised the team’s environmental efforts. The Rose Garden became the country’s first arena to receive the “gold” status designated by national Leadership in Energy and Environment Design standards.

Mensah did concede that the Blazers new digital online network has had challenges creating enough content to fill its airwaves. Plus the team has suffered the wrath of angry fans who can’t watch Blazers games because they subscribe to cable or dish television networks that haven’t reached a carriage agreement with Comcast. Comcast holds the rights to cable games through its sports network.

Mensah also said the team isn’t threatened by the upcoming launch of the Portland Timbers Major League Soccer franchise. The teams’ seasons will overlap only slightly: The Timbers begin play in late March.

There could also be several sports cultural differences.

“The Timbers and their fan base and make-up is very different from ours,” Mensah said. “The experiences will be very different. The experience of being outdoors at a soccer game is very different from what the Trail Blazers want. We don’t see the Timbers as competition for us. If we can have another strong sport here, that will be good for sports in Portland in general.”